In Modern Standard Arabic the ordinal numbers are used to tell time. Although in colloquial Arabic, the cardinal numbers are usually used, in the media, the MSA forms are used so it is good to know them. Below is a review of telling time using MSA. The review is brief, but it should give you all you will really need to know on the subject.
| one o’clock |
الساعةُ الواحدةُ |
| two o’clock |
الساعةُ الثانيةُ |
| three o’clock |
الساعةُ الثالثةُ |
| four o’clock |
الساعةُ الرابعةُ |
| five o’clock |
الساعةُ الخامسةُ |
| six o’clock |
الساعةُ السادسةُ |
| seven o’clock |
الساعةُ السابعة |
| eight o’clock |
الساعةُ الثامنةُ |
| nine o’clock |
الساعةُ التاسعةُ |
| ten o’clock |
الساعةُ العاشرةُ |
| eleven o’clock |
الساعةُ الحاديةَ عشرةَ |
| twelve o’clock |
الساعةُ الثانيةَ عشرةَ |
Note that instead of using the ordinal for واحد , which is أوّل in the masculine and أولى in the feminine, the feminine form of واحد is used. Other than that, the ordinals are used. If you need to review the ordinals, go to the section in this book on the numbers in Arabic.
Below are a couple of examples showing how these ordinals are used in telling time.
| What time is it? Two o’clock |
كم الساعةُ؟ الساعةُ الثانية. |
| We arrived at the city at 8 o’clock |
وصلنا الى المدينة في الساعة الثامنة. |
The words ربعُ quarter, ثُلث third, and نصف half, are commonly used in telling time. Normally they are made definite.
| nine thirty |
الساعة التاسعةُ والنِصفُ |
| one fifteen |
الساعةُ الواحدة والربعُ |
| I study the Arabic language every day from five o’clock to seven o’clock in the evening because I love this language the way correspondents love truth |
كلَّ يوم ادرس اللغة العربية من الساعة الخامسة الى الساعة السابعة مساءً لاني احب هذه اللغة حب المراسلين للحقيقة. |
إلاّ is used before رُبع and ثُلث to express the equivalent of “quarter to” the hour or “twenty minutes” to the hour. When preceded by إلاّ these words are in the indefinite accusative.
| What time is it , my dear? It’s quarter to three (two forty-five) |
كم الساعةُ يا حبيبي؟ الساعة الثالثةُ آلا رُبعاً. |
| When did the mail arrive? It arrived at twenty minutes to ten |
متى وصل البريد؟ وصل في الساعة العاشرة إلا ثُلثاً. |
The word دقيقة (plural دقائق ) means “minute”. For “one minute” and “two minutes” after the hour, the singular and dual are used respectively. After that, the ordinal numbers are used with دقيقة .
| One minute after twelve |
الساعةُ الثانية عشرةَ ودقيقة |
| Two minutes after twelve |
الساعةالثانيةَ عشرةَ ودقيقتان |
| We arrived at the director’s office at five minutes after twelve |
وصلنا الى مكتب المدير في الساعة الثانية والدقيقة الخامسة. |
| The director kicked us out of his office at twelve twenty-five because we made fun of him |
اخرجنا المدير من مكتبه في الساعة الثانية والدقيقة الخامسة والعشرين لاننا ضحكنا عليه. |
دقائق is used with إلاّ for constructions such as “five minutes to three”. See the following page.
| The director contacted us at five minutes to one and apologized to us and invited us to his office again |
اتصل المدير بنا في الساعة الواحدة إلا خمسَ دقائقَ واعتذر لنا ودعانا الى مكتبهِ من جديد. |
| We arrived at his office at two forty-five but he kicked us out again at ten minutes to three |
رجعنا الى مكتبه في الساعة الثانية والدقيقة الخامسة والاربعين ولكنه اخرجنا في الساعة الثالثة إلا عشرَ دقائقَ. |
While there are other features related to telling time, the above should suffice for almost all situations you are likely to encounter listening to or reading MSA. In colloquial Arabic, the situation is a bit different. The cardinals are used for the hour (with the corresponding dialect’s pronunciation), and the ordinals are not used with دقيقة. For example 3:25 would be الساعة ثلاثة وخمسة وعشرين دقيقة – pronounced somewhat differently from dialect to dialect. In fact, دقيقة is itself usually dropped. Furthermore, usually time is given for the hour, the quarter hour, the half hour, and a quarter till the hour. So time in colloquial is considerably easier and is what you will actually find more practical in day to day life in the Arab world.
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